Organizational Learning Capacity and Sustainability Challenges in Times of Crisis: A Study on Tourism SMEs in Galicia (Spain)

Toubes, Diego R.; Araújo-Vila, Noelia; Fraiz-Brea, José A.

doi:10.3390/su132111764

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Organizational Learning Capacity and Sustainability Challenges in Times of Crisis: A Study on Tourism SMEs in Galicia (Spain)

Diego R. Toubes

^1,*

Noelia Araújo-Vila

and

José A. Fraiz-Brea

Department of Business Organization, Business Administration and Tourism School, University of Vigo, 32004 Ourense, Spain

Financial Economics and Accounting Department, University of Vigo, 32004 Ourense, Spain

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editors: José M. Ramírez-Hurtado, Juan Manuel Berbel Pineda and Francisco Rejón-Guardia

Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 11764; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111764

Received: 20 September 2021 / Revised: 15 October 2021 / Accepted: 20 October 2021 / Published: 25 October 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Trends on Responsible and Sustainable Tourism)

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Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis has encouraged a major shift towards greater environmental awareness and sustainable consumption. However, in times of severe crisis, SMEs primarily look to return to normalcy and their own survival rather than implementing a sustainable agenda. This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the learning problems faced by small tourism enterprises in a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper explores the learning capacity of SMEs and the importance of establishing mechanisms that provide SMEs with the keys to organizational learning as a source of continuous knowledge. Open-ended semi-structured interviews with 39 tourism SMEs managers in Galicia (Spain) were conducted during the toughest months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show that SMEs have not been fully involved in the learning process, which is mainly related to knowledge transfer and integration. DMOs can act as promoters of knowledge management for organizational preparedness by providing SMEs with learning mechanisms and strategies to go beyond simple problem solving when they arise. View Full-Text

Keywords: organizational learning; crisis management; barriers to learning; knowledge transfer; small tourism enterprises

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Toubes, D.R.; Araújo-Vila, N.; Fraiz-Brea, J.A. Organizational Learning Capacity and Sustainability Challenges in Times of Crisis: A Study on Tourism SMEs in Galicia (Spain). Sustainability 2021, 13, 11764. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111764

AMA Style

Toubes DR, Araújo-Vila N, Fraiz-Brea JA. Organizational Learning Capacity and Sustainability Challenges in Times of Crisis: A Study on Tourism SMEs in Galicia (Spain). Sustainability. 2021; 13(21):11764. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111764

Chicago/Turabian Style

Toubes, Diego R., Noelia Araújo-Vila, and José A. Fraiz-Brea. 2021. "Organizational Learning Capacity and Sustainability Challenges in Times of Crisis: A Study on Tourism SMEs in Galicia (Spain)" Sustainability 13, no. 21: 11764. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111764

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Organizational Learning Capacity and Sustainability Challenges in Times of Crisis: A Study on Tourism SMEs in Galicia (Spain)

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